


King Of Wishful Thinking

by knitekat



Category: Primeval
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Fix-It, M/M, Timey-Wimey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-13
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-17 06:53:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2300495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knitekat/pseuds/knitekat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny ends up in the past (season 1) and falls for Ryan - when Patrick arrives, he can't just leave and not warn Ryan of future events.</p>
            </blockquote>





	King Of Wishful Thinking

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fredbassett](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fredbassett/gifts).



> Thanks go to Fififolle for the beta.

Danny swore and dodged out of the way of the bloody chicken-on-steroids' beak before he slammed Molly into the side of its ugly head. Danny grinned as it staggered drunkenly away from him, although his grin faded as he heard the squawks of more of the damned birds approaching. He glanced around, looking for somewhere to escape the flock of killer birds, a cave or even a tree would do at a pinch. He almost whooped in delight when he noticed the welcome sight of an anomaly. 

He ran towards it, his heart pounding and lungs screaming for air as he dredged up all his reserves when he realised it was flickering and fading before his eyes. He had to make it, he could hear the bloody birds squawking far too close behind him and getting closer with every squawk, and flung himself through it. He hit the ground hard just as the anomaly closed far too close behind him. He rolled over and glared at first his clipped heels and then at where the anomaly had been. “Fuck! Do you know how fucking hard it is to get comfortable boots?”

Danny froze when he heard movement behind him; he took a firmer grip on Molly and scrambled to his feet, wheeling an arm for balance as he almost toppled over again when he tried to put his weight on his no-longer existing heels. His eyes widened when he realised he was surrounded by several black-clad soldiers, all pointing weapons at him. He slowly lowered Molly and gave them his famous cheeky grin. “Well, at least you lot don't shoot first and ask questions later.”

One of the soldiers muttered something into a headset and Danny knew he'd called his arrival in, it was standard procedure at the ARC. He stepped forward, held a hand out and tried a cheery, “Hello?” but quickly decided to retreat when the green eyes he met were cold and sent a shiver of fear down his back, he'd seen that look in far too many eyes from his days at the Met.

Danny heard the slamming of car doors and almost gasped when Cutter headed towards him. How? What the fuck was going on? Bloody hell, where the hell was he? 

Danny was snapped from his thoughts when a blond-haired soldier just oozing command stepped into view and the expression on the man's face reminded Danny that he probably looked a mess. He clearly remembered the same look on the faces of Becker's soldiers when he'd returned from following Patrick through the anomalies. His thoughts were once more interrupted when the soldier demanded, “Who the hell are you?”

Danny glanced at Cutter, but saw no sign of recognition on the professor's face. “Although they did know who I was,” Danny quipped, mostly to break the silence as he had no idea what to do now. For once in his life, Danny was stumped as to the best course of action he could take and rather longed for a door to kick open. 

“What do we do with him, boss?” 

“What do you think, Finn?” The blond soldier asked in a long suffering tone. When the dark-haired soldier still looked slightly blank, the man sighed, “Take him back to base, we'll see what he has to say to Lester and Ms Brown.”

Danny barely kept from reacting to that news. Bloody hell, Ms Brown. He glanced at Cutter once more and remembered Jenny telling him about the obsession Cutter – or, at least, the Cutter from his world – had with her being some woman called Claudia Brown. Something that bloody fruitcake Helen Cutter had confirmed later. So... had he found his way to Cutter's world? If so, would he ever make it back home... to his cold, lonely flat. 

He looked around again and noticed Hart and Cutter chatting, standing almost in each other's personal space, the tension he'd been told about non-existent. Maybe being stuck here wouldn't be so bad, it wasn't as if he had anyone or anything to go back to. The ARC had managed perfectly well without him, his position taken by bloody Matt 'Shoot-First' Anderson. All he really had was Patrick and... fuck! Danny turned back to the now closed anomaly, Patrick was still out there, somewhere, through the anomalies, and he really, needed to find him before he killed again. Danny sighed, not that there was much he could do about that now, he doubted this anomaly team would just let him wander off by himself even if the anomaly had still been open.

He glanced around at the surrounding soldiers, and taking in the way they watched him carefully, he knew there would be little point in trying to escape their clutches. Besides which, being in the ARC – or wherever the project was based in this reality – really would be the best place to be, whether he decided to stay here or tried to find Patrick and get home.

***

Danny soon realised he wasn't being taken to the ARC but instead to a different government building. He wasn't given time to clean up before he was manhandled into a chair and told to sit. When the guards left, he took the opportunity to look around the room, or at least what he could see from his chair – it was bare except for two other chairs at the opposite end of the table. A blinding light blazed down at him from the ceiling and he shaded his eyes and peered into the corners of the room but they remained in shadow. A soft scuffle alerted Danny that there were still guards present and he decided not to rock the boat, not when he wanted to convince Lester to let him on the team. Finally getting bored with his wait, Danny leaned his chair back and put his damaged boots on the table.

He looked up when the door finally opened and Lester swept in, looking just as uptight and neat as ever, with a familiar look of disdain on his face. He was closely followed by Jenny... no, that must be Ms Brown. Bloody hell, he could see why Cutter (his Cutter) had found it difficult to deal with Jenny, especially if he'd had romantic feelings for Ms Brown, they were so similar and yet different. It must have been hell for him, coming on top of Helen revealing Stephen's betrayal. 

Lester cleared his throat and steepled his fingers, staring at Danny in a way that made him feel like a bug under a microscope. Danny quickly discovered that this Lester was even more irascible than the one Danny knew. 

Danny tried to weave a story, that he'd just stumbled onto the anomalies, but he could tell by Lester's face that the man didn't believe him and was far too close to ordering Danny locked up. In the end, Danny had sighed and told them the truth – or at least most of it. He could see the lack of belief in Lester's face and grinned as he remembered he'd kept his ARC identification card, signed by one James P. Lester, he was sure it would serve to prove his admittedly unlikely story. Unfortunately, Lester not only agreed that it was his signature but had also noticed that the date was several years in the future and he had not been best pleased when Danny refused to tell them anything about it, citing a wish not to change events. Danny refused to budge from that position, no matter what veiled threats Lester made, for he had no wish to alter the future. Look what an obsession with changing things had done to Helen, and by all accounts she had been sane once.

***

Danny knew Lester didn't entirely trust him, and he could hardly blame the man after he'd admitted he was from the future – or as Connor put it, a possible future. He doubted his refusal to tell them anything useful for fear of 'changing the timelines' had helped. Lester had looked long suffering for a moment and Danny had the suspicion that he'd just channelled Cutter. Danny found he wasn't allowed to be on his own, he always had a soldier keeping an eye on him. It wouldn't have been so bad if they'd been at the ARC, the place had bunk rooms, kitchens and a gym, this place didn't.

He had to convince Lester to allow him to join the project, to be useful until he found an anomaly home – and then, he still had to find Patrick. None of that, of course, stopped his dick from noticing that Captain Ryan looked bloody fit.

***

After several days, Danny realised that Lester was never going to trust him and, well, gate crashing had worked previously. He waited until the team was called out to an anomaly, gave poor Finn the slip, and showed up just in time to drag Connor out of the way of a charging Triceratops before managing to send it home with the aid of a nearby bulldozer.

He'd returned through the anomaly – with the bulldozer – just in time to be hauled back to the project's base and witness the tail end of Finn getting his arse handed to him by Ryan before he had the furious soldier bearing down on him. Fuck, but the man was gorgeous when he was angry.

“Mr Quinn!” Lester's voice snapped out, and to Danny's great disappointment Ryan left them alone, damn Lester and his rotten timing. 

Danny assumed his best innocent expression and slowly turned to face Lester. “Guv?”

Lester pinched the bridge of his nose, hard. “Tell me, was this how you joined the 'ARC'?”

Danny grinned at the memory and nodded. “Yes, guv.”

“And I let you join?” Lester let out a deep sigh and nodded, slowly. “Fine, but the management takes no responsibility for any injuries.”

Danny grinned, “You didn't last time, guv.”

***

Several anomalies later, Danny felt as if he'd always been part of this team; even if he had to bite his tongue from warning Hart about Helen's revelation or Cutter about her murderous intentions. So, he leapt at the offer when the soldiers invited him down to the pub. Evenings at the pub became a semi-regular way to finish the day before he returned to his flat, just as cold and lonely as his own had been, where he spent the evenings either watching years old TV, wanking over Ryan or worrying over what Patrick might be doing.

One pub night, after a rather nerve-biting anomaly changed everything. 

Danny went for a piss and as he was giving himself a shake, he heard the door open behind him and them froze as he heard the snick of the bolt. He turned and swallowed as he meet Ryan's eyes and watched the man lick his lips. 

“You are a bloody tease, Quinn,” Ryan growled out as he pushed Danny against the bog walls, his mouth searing fire across Danny's face and neck.

Danny groaned under the assault, his dick firming as Ryan's gun-calloused hand wrapped around and stroked him. He gasped when Ryan dropped gracefully to his knees and swallowed him whole. The sight of his dick down Ryan's throat dragged a dirty moan from Danny and his head hit the wall with a thump when the soldier proved he knew exactly what he was doing as he took Danny to bliss. 

Ryan rose to his feet and kissed Danny hard. “You do know I'm going to fuck you now?”

“Fuck, yes,” Danny gasped and didn't protest when he was spun around and he groaned and pushed back for more when slicked fingers probed at his entrance before sinking inside, quickly but thoroughly preparing him. The exquisite feel of Ryan's large cock pressing inside to split him open was fucking wonderful and Danny squeezed and shoved back for more. Large hands gripped his hips and then Ryan was moving, hard and fast, driving into Danny and sending him to another shattering orgasm.

***

Danny was bloody glad the next day was Saturday and he wasn't on call for the weekend. It gave him hours to agonise over Ryan. What did he do now? Especially as he had finally remembered Ryan, he'd read about him in the files... about his death. Could he really stand by and allow that to happen to his lover... could he call Ryan that after a single encounter in a pub's bog?

Danny sighed heavily, maybe it would be better to just ignore what had happened between them, to chalk it up as a (bloody brilliant) one night stand and just concentrate on getting home and stopping Patrick. Danny shook his head, the thought of leaving Ryan to die left a shitty taste in his mouth. He just couldn't stand the thought of walking away, knowing he could have saved Ryan but didn't... A knock on his door came as a welcome distraction from his thoughts, at least until he opened the door to reveal one Tom Ryan, looking gorgeous in jeans and a tight t-shirt. 

“Can I come in?” 

When Ryan's hopeful expression slowly turned to disappointment, Danny knew he didn't care about what he thought would – might – happen. He could be wrong, this wasn't his world after all, and he was here and could stop Ryan dying if that anomaly – and Helen's manipulations – did occur. Danny shook his head and, before he could reconsider, grabbed Ryan and pulled him into a kiss, groaning as he felt Ryan's cock twitch and firm and hearing Ryan moan into his mouth. 

Danny pulled free and rested his forehead on Ryan's, he knew what he wanted. “Fuck me?”

“Are you sure?” 

Danny didn't blame Ryan for his hesitation, he hadn't welcomed the soldier with open arms (or legs, his dick reminded him). Danny nodded, he wanted as much of Ryan as he could get for as long as he could get him, forever, if Danny had any say in the matter. “Definitely.”

Ryan still didn't move and Danny didn't like the look in the man's eye. “You didn't recognise me, did you? When you came through the anomaly. You knew Lester and Ms Brown, Cutter and his team, but you never knew me.” When Danny didn't answer, Ryan continued, “Something happens to me, doesn't it?” 

“Ryan, I...” 

Ryan stopped Danny's words by the simple method of sticking his tongue down Danny's throat. He pulled back and kissed Danny. “You can't tell me and I don't want to know.” 

Danny almost sighed with relief, he had no wish to tell Ryan how he died and beside that, he wasn't going to let it happen. “Good, now that's out of the way, can you fuck me?”

“Pushy bottom,” Ryan muttered and swatted Danny's arse. “No drinks or hellos, just straight to the sex.”

Danny had started to head for his bedroom but paused and looked at his lover. “What, you want a beer rather than a fuck?” 

“No.” Ryan smiled, “I think I'll have the beer afterwards.”

***

Patrick had been sighted, he'd damn near killed young Kermit when the young soldier had tried to stop him. He was out there, somewhere, and Danny couldn't let him hurt anyone else. He had to leave, he had to find Patrick and he had to take him somewhere there were no humans for him to kill.

It felt shitty to just leave Ryan like this, but his lover was at the hospital, waiting for news on Kermit and being there for the boy's wife. Danny knew he couldn't afford to wait for Ryan to return or he risked losing Patrick. Apart from that and although it felt so bloody wrong to just leave, Danny couldn't face the thought of saying goodbye. It hurt to know he wouldn't be there to save Ryan, that if he ever made it home that Ryan would be long dead.

Even knowing Patrick might be hurting people or might disappear, Danny found himself wandering around their – Ryan's – house, his fingers trailing across various pieces of furniture and other items. A smile tugged at his lips as he remembered Ryan bending him over the settee, more than once, or the time he'd been fucked sitting on the dining room table. 

Danny shook his head, he was only putting off the inevitable, and if Ryan came home before he left... He had considered asking Ryan to go with him, to travel through the anomalies as he searched for Patrick, but he hadn't. Ryan wouldn't leave his men or abandon his duty, even if Danny had told him it would kill him. Danny closed him eyes, he wished he could stay and protect Ryan, to somehow stop him going through that anomaly or maybe go with him to protect him, but he couldn't, he had to stop Patrick. His brother had accused him once of deserting him, of leaving him in that horrible world all alone. Danny's heart was torn between them, but he knew what he had to do, Patrick was his brother and Danny was responsible for him. He couldn't abandon him, not again, no matter how much it broke his heart to leave Ryan.

A tear slowly tracked down Danny's face as he took his final look around the flat, his voice cracking slightly, “Ryan...” Danny shook his head, he had to go but he couldn't leave without saying something. He grabbed the writing pad and paused, what the hell should – could – he write? Nodding as he decided, Danny quickly scribbled the words onto the page, folded it and stuffed it into an envelope, scrawling Ryan's name on it. Propping it on their – now Ryan's bed – Danny took a deep breath. It was up to Ryan now if he read the note, if he acted on it. Danny knew Cutter would be furious at his actions, but Cutter was dead in his world too and... in all honesty, could Cutter say he wouldn't do the same if he could have saved Hart?

***

Danny stepped through an anomaly and raised his hands when he was greeted by Becker and his men. A slight smile appeared on his face when he saw Connor and Matt walking towards him, maybe he was finally home?

When Connor dragged Danny into a hug and said, “At least Matt didn't shoot you this time,” Danny knew he was home, but he couldn't help looking for Ryan. Even though he knew this was not the world he'd left Ryan that note, he had hoped... but it was not to be. He closed his eyes and refused to cry, he had lost everything, for Ryan was long dead and Patrick, he hadn't listened and in the end Danny hadn't been around to save him – either of them.

***

Danny strolled into Lester's office and leaned against the wall as if he hadn't a care in the world. “Guv?”

Lester looked up and quirked an eyebrow. “At least this time you've already showered.” He leaned back and considered Danny before adding, “Get checked out by the medic and then you're off duty.”

“Guv?” Danny repeated as he pushed himself away from the wall, the protest on his lips dying unspoken as he heard a well-remembered, well-loved voice behind him. One he'd never thought he'd hear again. He spun and his jaw dropped open as he saw Ryan standing there, older than he remembered but alive. Fucking alive. A wide grin split his face when Ryan smiled at him and held a hand out, Danny eagerly went into his lover's arms and they shared a heart-stopping kiss until Lester cleared his throat. “Thanks, guv.”

“Get out of here.” Lester waved them off. “Quinn?”

“Guv?”

“Cutter wants a word with you later.”

“Cutter's alive?”

Lester quirked an eyebrow at him. “Hmm. I will need a full report on the changes your note caused, Quinn.”

“Yes, guv.” Danny wasn't looking forward to the grilling he'd no doubt experience at both Cutter's and Lester's hands, but, he was happy to pay that price if he had Ryan back.


End file.
